be like, “Joey Crack!” (laughs) That’s the craziest shit when the police be like, “Joey Crack, what’s up, nigga!” You’ve been in the game for a minute, and there’s a lot of trap rappers in the game now. Do you think there is too much drug talk and too much trapping going in rap music now? I mean, they’re just rapping that real shit. When you talk about niggas rapping, niggas are just painting a picture. We’re poets, we’re authors. We’re like the niggas who make movies. If there’s a nigga in jail in a box, and he don’t see no light of day and the only thing he can do is listen to his Walkman, we’re painting a movie for that nigga. It doesn’t necessarily mean that every nigga spitting about crack is hustling crack or selling crack, it’s just niggas painting that movie. It just seems like we all wanna be the next Scarface. Out of all the rappers that rhyme about selling drugs, how many of them do you think have actually sold drugs? I think almost everybody has. We all grew up in poor, fucked up neighborhoods, so you know when I left the game and I said I was gonna become a rapper, hustlers, all them niggas were looking at me like I was crazy, “Crack, you crazy, there’s money out here.” I decided to change my life through music, and most of them niggas done got locked up for 75 years, unfortunately. I was ahead of my time and now I see hustlers going into the [rap] game. Niggas used to laugh at me when I told the real niggas, “I’m about to get this rap money.” At the end of the day, I think niggas hustle cause they have to and it’s survival. But when you turn around and you make it legit in the industry and you’re holding money, I don’t think there should be no reason to go back and go hustle. Do you think there’s more money in the rap game or the drug game? There’ll always be more money in the drug game, but who’s to say that you’re gonna get that money? In the drug game Pablo Escobar and [those type of] niggas made billions of dollars. But a nigga on the corner or a nigga in front of a trap house, he ain’t making billions. At the end of the day, if you’re able to rap about hustlin’, and you’re able to be a rapper, you making legit money. You ain’t gotta go to jail for that. But when you’re hustlin’, you know it’s one or the other, dead or jail. And if you go to jail, you shouldn’t be snitching on niggas cause you knew what the fuck you was doing. And I don’t understand niggas who snitch on niggas knowing that they were doing what the fuck they were doing. You’re caught, why you gonna snitch on the next man cause you fucked? Knowing damn well that you were breaking the law, doing whatever it was you were doing. You knew what it was when you was in the game. You said everybody wants make the next Scarface. What do you say to people that look up to drug lords? Well, you know, the young niggas just gotta know this is just entertainment. Just because it’s a black or Spanish nigga doing it, should be no difference. If a black or Spanish nigga says, “I’ma blow your head off,” for some reason people believe it. But when Eminem says that he’s gonna put his fucking wife in the trunk and ride around with her dead, we don’t believe it. Rappers are poets; we’re painting a picture. We’re making movies through music. When you see [Martin] Scorsese or one of them niggas that do the movies, you don’t look at them like, “Oh shit, that’s a real nigga, he’s gon kill you.” You just gotta know that this is entertainment. So when you do a song, like your new song “Crackhouse,” are you referring to an actual crackhouse? Or is it like this is Joey Crack’s house? We’re referring to [a crackhouse], but the “Crackhouse” song itself, actually is talking about me. You know, Joey Crack, you’re in Crack’s house. Like “Run’s House.” “You’re in the crackhouse, welcome to the crackhouse.” So, you moved from New York to Miami. I got both. I live in New York and I live in Miami as well. I’ve been in Miami for like 10 years, just back and forth, New York and Miami. I just love the vibe in Miami. Niggas show love, good niggas, loyal niggas. So I fucks wit’ them. Miami is on the coast and there is a lot of drug trafficking going on there. Is there more drug trafficking going on in Miami or New York? I think everybody gotta get their drugs from Miami. The shit comes in from Columbia and all that to Miami. And then niggas gotta take it everywhere else. So I think it originally hits Miami before anywhere else. As far as music is concerned, you’re a New York rapper that said “change your style up, switch to Southpaw.” So you feel you have to go to Miami to get that flavor in Hip Hop right now? Not really, my nigga. I been there for like 10 years. The whole Miami movement, we have a lot to do with starting it. I went to Miami on a promo tour and heard Trick Daddy. Took his demo, gave it to Atlantic Records, next thing I know, Craig Kallman signed him a week later. As far as DJ Khaled, we brought him along, now he’s the biggest nigga in the game. Cool & Dre, we brought
them along, biggest niggas in the game. Khaled discovered Rick Ross, popped that off. So, in the most respect way, I feel like I got a lot to do with shit moving the way it’s moving. You do have a lot to do with that and you’ve been in the game for a long time, but you’re not getting that respect. Why do you think that is? I really don’t know, man. You look at most of your rappers and they got one hot album, or one hit record. And then they do a second album and the shit is wack or whatever the case may be. The longevity for a rapper ain’t there no more. So, when you got somebody like Fat Joe, who’s been in the game 14, 15 years, dropping crazy hit records and crazy hit records, and got a hit now on the charts, it’s like, when are you gonna show the nigga respect? When are you gonna admit that the nigga’s spitting that shit? I heard people say, “Fat Joe’s only around because of the song he did with Lil Wayne.” What do you say to people that say things like that? I mean, they say that all the time. “Lean Back” was #1 in the country 19 weeks. “What’s Luv” was #1 in the country, spun 38,000 times. “We Thug“If a black or gin’,” smash hit record. “Make It Rain,” Spanish nigga hit record. People don’t really says,‘I’ma blow smash like it. You know, I don’t really love the your head record I did, “Get It Poppin’,” but that off,’ people shit went Top 5. “Make It Rain” went #3 believe it. But in the country. Now I got “I Won’t Tell,” when Eminem and that shit is like #18 in the country, moving on up. You can’t categorize me says that he’s as one song. I got too many hits under gonna put his my belt. Can’t nobody take credit for fucking wife nothing. And by the way, the joint with in the trunk me and Weezy, I came up with that and ride hook. Then I asked Weezy to get on that around with right there, you know what I’m sayin’. her dead,we And that’s my brother. People can say don’t believe whatever they want; it’s all about unity it. Rappers are and that commission. Niggas together.
poets;we’re painting a picture.”
Speaking of unity, we have to touch on the other side, the beef side. G-Unit just released another diss record going at you. That beef has been going on for a long time. Is that something that you’re tired of yet? 50 Cent is pussy, man. Niggas is pussy, man. He got shot a bunch of times by a nigga. A nigga be in the club everyday, he don’t go get him. Ja Rule’s a little nigga, he ain’t even slapbox with him. And a nigga wanna come fuck with Fat Joe? I don’t believe this guy. We don’t believe you, you need more people. Go fucking rot out in your fucking mansion. You also said in the past that you’ve made more money since you’ve been beefing with G-Unit. Ever since I went independent, I’ve been cha-chinging it all the way. (laughs) Like, they can’t stop me, my nigga. They got it fucked up if they think so. If that was the case, the nigga would have been stopped me along time ago. You can’t stop me. I make hit records. At the end of the day, you can’t stop somebody that keeps making hit records. And by the way, 50 Cent is just 2% of the game. There are 98% other people who love Joe Crack. You see in my videos, how many niggas come support me in videos and wish me well? We don’t give a fuck what them niggas say. What does the title of your new album The Elephant in the Room mean? The room is Hip Hop and I’m the elephant in the room. Ask one of them niggas that told you, “Yo, Joe’s hot cause of ‘Make It Rain’,” who they know that’s been in the game for 15 years dropping hits after hits, after hits, after hits? That’s something niggas gotta ask themselves. That’s exactly my point. I constantly keep coming back with hit records. Yo, by the way, have you checked the Billboard, have you watched your BET or MTV screen to see who’s on there all fucking day? Don’t you see how this nigga is spittin’? Nigga been in the game 14, 15 years, fucking wit’ new niggas that just got in the game, spittin’ neck to neck wit’ these niggas. Do you smoke while you record or before you record? Nah, nah, nah, I don’t even smoke to be honest with you. I drink but I don’t smoke. So what’s your secret to success when it comes to making a hit? I know how to make ‘em. And everybody don’t know how to make ‘em, that’s the problem. A hit record is something you hear on the radio all day and you see on BET and MTV all day! A hit record ain’t what these niggas be thinking, they do a little pitty-pat record and it’s a hit. And niggas don’t got hits. // OZONE MAG // 61